Setting up a skink habitat

Last week my job was to set up a small skink habitat for some Otago skinks we are recieving from Wellington Zoo. The skinks will only be with us a short time so it is just a simple cage setup for them to live in while they are here.

Here is how you set a temporary skink habitat up:

1) Clean out the cage! If your cage has been used before it needs to be cleared of mess from the previous tenants.

 2) Add soil for the ground base.

3) Add a variety of schist rock - the skinks use the schist to sunbathe on and to live under. It is important when putting the rock in that you make room for the skinks to go under the rocks and make sure everything is stable so they don't get squashed!

Can you tell me why it is important that the skinks can have somewhere to sunbathe?

4) Add some driftwood and plants.


5) Use old bottle lids for water and food containers - just the lids, otherwise the water will be too deep!



Now we are ready and waiting for our skinks to arrive - hopefully I get to go to the airport to pick them up!